I live in the northern part of the country, and we do get proper winter weather here. We haven't had freezing temperatures yet, but a couple of major rain storms have already been through. And here, just like the saying goes, when it rains it pours...

To a certain point yes, but they lack breathe-ability and would end up pretty clammy. We've had them out in mid-60s weather (18-20 Celsius), and it was not a problem. Hot summer days, now that's another story. Probably better off checking out the regular Freerider High.